A Classic Monster
by Crystal Volcheck
Summary: A short Kico request I filled on tumblr a while back, it's Humanized, 2% angst and 98% fluff. Rico doesn't care for scary movies so it surprises Kowalski to see his partner watching one, then again there's something to be said about a classic monster.


**This is an old Kico request that I posted on tumbr a while back, though I can't seem to find the original one that I had posted. I put a lot of myself into this fic because I enjoy the classic horror flicks over the ones of today, like House on Haunted Hill, Psycho, The Little Shop of Horrors, and The Brain that Wouldn't Die are some of my favorites. Those movies aren't all about gore, torture, rape, and other unsavory things that make my skin crawl. Instead there are very real fears in them as well as subtle lessons that I adore, like in monster/zombie fics because it's normally that if humans had been pissing with something they shouldn't the world wouldn't be ending. I also mention Frankenstein because while the monster was ugly he wasn't evil or a monster until he had to be; I really think of Rico that way. He's sensitive and caring, but his appearance is unnerving and he had to do what he had to do to stay alive.**

**So enough of that,**

**Translations:**

**pero ahora quiero enseñarte algo - but now I want to teach you something.**

**Disclaimer: I have no rights to The Penguins of Madagascar**

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The Classic Monster

Kowalski chuckled to himself as he slid in bed next to Rico, it was times like these that he really enjoyed doing undercover missions, even more so when Skipper felt that he and Rico could handle it themselves. It allowed them to flaunt their relationship and get the alone time they rarely found in any place other than in his lab or Rico's studio.

"Find anything worth watching?" Kowalski asked curling into Rico's side, the larger man automatically wrapping an arm around his shoulders only flinching slightly when cold toes brushed his leg. It was amazing how domestic they had become, amazing, but not surprising. They had been on the same team for nearly a decade now and had known each other for five more. Well, known was to lose term, Kowalski had been in charge of getting Rico adjusted to the United States since he was the only one Rico had trusted.

"Classics." The weapons expert rasped finally settling on a channel that was showing nothing but horror movies, currently Frankenstein was playing. His choice pulled Kowalski from his thoughts, Rico almost never wanted to watch scary movies; he said it brought up bad nightmares. Actually, none of the team could really stand them, they'd watch a few every now and then, but only when none of them didn't mind losing too much sleep. In fact, Kowalski couldn't exactly remember when the last time they had watched something scary and Lunacorns didn't count, no matter what Skipper had to say.

"You sure you want to watch these?" He recalled the results of the last time they had voted to watch a horror flick, Rico had to leave the room he was shaking so bad and slipped into a deep depression for several days afterwards.

"Not scary." The answer took Kowalski by surprise, so much in fact that he had to sit up and look his partner straight in the eyes.

"What?" Rico looked at him with raised eyebrows, not sure what he had said to get a reaction like that out of the older man. After all it had been getting harder and harder for him to surprise the scientist (at least outside of the bedroom anyway) so the reaction had more or less surprised him as well.

"What do you mean anymore?" Oh, so that was what had done it. Now was one of the many times Rico wished his throat wasn't so damaged. How much easier it would be for him to explain his abstract ideas, instead of constantly stumbling over his own tongue. There was something to be said about a classic monster and classic horror flicks, they were scary without all the blood and gore. There was no need for torture and slow painful deaths, no the classics were all about about psychological fears.

"Monsters inside us." The moment the words left his mouth, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say, Kowalski's blue eyes widening, a flash of sympathy and pain.

"Rico…"It was a hardly a whisper, if he hadn't turned the volume down he probably wouldn't have heard it, but now the small hotel room was silent. He glanced down to see that Kowalski had covered his hand holding the remote, the scientist's index finger just resting on the mute button. "You don't have to punish yourself." Rico wanted to laugh, but could not, instead a smile found its way on to his face, his skin prickling where his scar was. For a genius, Kowalski could be incredibly stupid; these movies could never compare what he had gone through in Chile. Even beyond that, he had accepted what had happened to him years ago and had come to terms with himself.

"Isn't a punishment." He managed to say, leaning over to capture the older man's lips before he could respond. However, like always, Kowalski couldn't let go of anything until he knew the why and a minute later the scientist was already spitting out a question.

"Then what is it? Because you aren't a monster Rico, you never were. It's the scientists who use their genius to hurt you and others through forced experimentation that are the real monsters. What you had to do, you did to survive." Another quick kiss, well quick compared to the first one.

"I know." Rico whispered against his lips, the remote had fallen to the floor some time ago and now the two were somehow tangled together.

"What?" Kowalski barely managed to whisper himself before being silenced by yet another kiss, his gasp of surprise when Rico flipped them so that he was straddling the taller man.

"I know, you taught me, _pero ahora quiero enseñarte algo."_


End file.
